Meat and bones and theology
There is so much meat in Martin Percy’s Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology that I cannot wait to sit down and really devour it as a full meal rather than as a buffet from which I only have the ability to eat a few bites from each section. I’m not sure exactly why the metaphor of dining kept coming to me as I read this densely packed, 176-page book, but all of my notes speak of “chewing on this” or “so much meat here” and even “this is so rich.” I’ll leave the metaphor behind now, but I still can’t help thinking of Percy’s words as several courses of a fine meal, meant to help us discern how implicit theology shapes ecclesiology.
One of the finer points Percy shares is that there is a difference between a church’s explicit and implicit theology. The explicit theology is that which gets posted on the “What We Believe” page of a church’s website, while implicit theology is not so easily defined or captured. It sort of has to be explored by all the senses. I suppose this is why it is so hard for a church to develop a website that tells anyone who searches what makes them unique. I think this is why so many of them work hard to spell out the explicit and leave the implicit to the photographs, podcasts, and music links. It is all supposed to say, “This is who we are behind the Statement of Faith of our denomination or association.” I love that Percy likens it to the difference between formal and operant religion (3), or what my mentor refers to as “official vs. boots on the ground” theology.
The problem is that explicit or official theology without the acknowledgement of implicit theology denies the reality of how culture influences the church and church influences the culture. In his conclusion, Percy notes, “Because the church is a body, grounded in a context and social construction of reality, it always reflects and sacralizes values that have yet to be fully processed and comprehended.” (160) The church, first locally and then more widely, practices new theological insights in their implicit or unofficial religion. This is how the church absorbs culture, tests it against the official theology, and then discards it or adds it to the formal theology of the body. The infernal railing against the “corruption of culture” is not only a bit silly, but it dangerously ignores the way God speaks through the world around us. Without cultural influence, followed by work done by Christians who filtered Scripture through the new lens of that influence, slavery and Patriarchy may still be our norms. It’s important for us to be open to all lenses that God offers, while making sure they are not false lenses. That’s why we operate in community.
My husband and I are currently looking for a new church. As ministers we found ourselves needing to pull completely away from any formal body to heal wounds that would take way too much time to explain here. As we did this, we rested in the company of a few close friends who became our faith community. As a third-generation minister, however, I miss the ecclesiology, the community, and the expansiveness of a church body. I miss liturgy and music. I miss being challenged by a word and praying with a community. I do not miss, however, the way explicit theology is used to batter people on the margins or, for that matter, anyone whose theology deviates from the norm. I’ve been through a lot of websites, read a whole bunch of “What We Believe” statements, and attended a wide variety of church gatherings looking for the elusive hybrid of explicit and implicit theology Percy mentions. I have always had a “deal-breaker” that I would not attend a church that didn’t support women in all aspects of ministry. On the other side, we desperately want to be a part of a body that fights hard for racial justice in our community. A few weeks ago we found a church that is instrumental in this fight and in education in the Portland community. I knew this church has women who lead, but does not support women as elders of the church so I was not really interested in attending after this one special week during which a wonderful leader was teaching on the church’s relationship with Native Americans. I was so sure, that I skipped the service and downloaded the sermon. What I realized after listening is that maybe I need to move my fences a bit. Can I be in community with a place that engages in work that I see as crucial, even if they fall short regarding equity for women? The answer is that I’m not sure yet. To return to my earlier metaphor, can I ingest that meat and ignore the bones that, as my mother says, “stick in my craw?” 
After reading Percy’s book, I think I need to explore the implicit a bit more and see if I can move past the explicit.
About the Author
Kristin Hamilton
14 responses to “Meat and bones and theology”
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Kristen, thank you for sharing your personal journey in finding a new church family. I think the tie in between your struggle to find a church that fits, and the discussion of implicit theology.
Personally, I am not that interested in finding a church that fits. I don’t think think that I every will. The reason, there will always be people with different perspectives, values, and traditions that are not like mine. That is what makes a church a family. Iron sharpens iron. Families hurt one another. And families stretch each other.
My challenge to you is this. Does the church love all people (including women?) Does the church respect all people (including women)? You may find that they do. Yet, their customs and culture may not totally match yours. They do not show their love and respect for women in the way that you personally want to see that demonstrated.
Let me give you an example, I lived in one country that is more matriarchal. The wife (or actually, the grandmother) makes the important decisions for the family. She decides how every dollar that comes into the household is spent. Yet, the “he man” husband still has cultural carryovers of superiority. No one eats dinner until he is ready, he does virtually no chores at home, etc. Does this culture value the man more, or the woman? It’s complicated.
You are so right that there will never be a church that “fits.” I would give up completely if I were looking for that! As a PK and a pastor myself I have either served or regularly attended 14 different churches across multiple denominations and not one has ever completely fit, even though still hold many of them dear to my heart.
Your questions about love and respect for all, including women, is a good one. I guess my quandary comes with how to define love and respect. Is it really love and respect to deny someone’s call and gifting from the Holy Spirit? What if I exchanged “women” with “people of color” or “people over 65?” It’s not so much my personal needs as my deeply held conviction that to deny any person’s calling and gifting is (at the very least) borderline heresy. I just need to decide if I can stomach crossing that line, or at least smudging it a bit.
Great post Kristin! The fact that you are willing to investigate the possibility of being a part of a community that “falls short” shows your strength, bravery, your deep love for people and for Christ. This is a powerful post on many levels. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Thank you, Jim. Your words are encouraging for me.
“Without cultural influence, followed by work done by Christians who filtered Scripture through the new lens of that influence, slavery and Patriarchy may still be our norms.” Amen, sister! Except that Patriarchy is still common in most conservative churches.
Thank you for the story of your journey. Each of us has to decide where to draw the lines, I guess. My husband doesn’t believe women should be in leadership positions so I’m stuck in our church. I am hoping God will gradually change his mind. After all, he’s letting me go to seminary! I also believe that I am called to help the women in hierarchical churches, so maybe God has me here for that reason. I don’t know.
But God bless you and thank you for another refreshing honest post!!!!
I’m praying with you, Mary. It sounds like your husband certainly believes in your call to lead so I have to believe this is encouraging evidence that change to patriarchy in churches is possible if we keep working and praying.
Something tells me you and God are making serious inroads as you also minister to the women in your church community!
Wow, Kristin, so much to reflect on here. I want to celebrate with you on the possibility of this church community being a place of belonging for your family. Like you, I’ve had a hard time being part of congregations that do not affirm the gifts of the Spirit given to women, but have decided that there were enough implicit characteristics that we affirmed, that we committed to them. What we found was that, over time, our presence (me as a woman with gifts to be offered, and my husband as a leading advocate) encouraged the fences of the church to move a bit. For example, by the time we moved cities and left one church, they’d started to allow women to pray from the stage and baptize without a man present (yes, really), and have just now started affirming women as deacons. Still not elders or preachers, but I feel like our presence allowed them to consider a different possibility.
I’ve thought a lot about you as I walk this discernment journey, Katy. I don’t if I will be able to have the influence you have in your denomination, but I do believe that, right now, I am being called to walk paths toward racial equity in my community and in our churches, and that includes working out ways to amplify the voices of women of color in particular. Maybe I can be a part of encouraging that in this church, or maybe we will discover God doesn’t want us there after all. Either way, I am being very cautious before committing my heart to a particular congregation again.
Kristen,
Thanks for the honesty and for sharing in the feast.
I think you have hit on one of the most important aspects of this work – the tension between the implicit and explicit theology of a church.
One of the things that I recognized in reading this is how often the implicit directly contradicts the explicit theology of a congregation (and/or a denomination)….. The explicit is, of course what we say we believe, but I think in many ways the implicit is the ‘proof in the pudding’ of what we actually believe.
Thanks Chip. You are so right! One of the churches we served in is part of a denomination that had many women as the founding pastors. They don’t even feel it necessary to talk about the issue because it is just a given in the denomination that women will lead in all areas alongside men. Only this church didn’t actually get that memo. They had women on staff, but those women had to constantly prove their value, while the men on staff never felt that pressure. When women preached, some people wouldn’t come to church. When “too many” women were on the platform, those lovely anonymous notes would show up in the offering plate warning against “feminizing” the church too much. Those tensions between implicit and explicit theology can and have been the death knell of churches, pastorates, and careers.
Kristen,
I share your challenge with the choice of membership. Being a person not accepted for whom God says you are by the people of God is a hurt worse than those by the people in the world. The explicit theology is sometimes overshadowed by our implicit theology.
I agree that Percy has so much to offer in this book that I have set aside Sunday to read it through as best as I can because I want to be able to get as much wisdom from him on Monday.
Kristen, we are still caring tradition with us – trying to find a church home. Why can’t we worship with others at different church locations? We are accepted in the Kingdom because of our belief in Jesus. We don’t need to prove that we are through church membership. That’s implicit theology. We are saved. That’s explicit theology.
You raise good points, Lynda. Scott and I do “wander” through a variety of churches as we look for a home and it is a pretty cool experience, even if we really don’t like a church. We always find something lovely about the people. That keeps us hopeful. My biggest thing is that I miss the bond that comes from being a part of a church community. Scott didn’t grow up with that, so it is easier for him to taste the feast at different churches than it is for me. I want the big Sunday dinner, where we know each other, love each other, fight with and for each other, and love God together.
Oh Kristin, I’ve been where you are several times with church. My heart ached for you and your husband as you have left your church and are in search for another home, but needed a time-out first. The conflict of missing church community and yet unsure what you need to feel connected and safe in a church is fatiguing. The conflicting messages on women are challenging too. Maybe you’ll be the one to provide some healthy growth and change? My prayers go with you. Keep me posted on what you decide and thanks for sharing your journey.
Thank you so much, Jen. Your words and prayers are a balm to me right now. I will definitely keep you all posted.